The Supreme Court on July 27 declined a request by West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari to urgently list on July 31 his petition challenging a Calcutta High Court order which allows the State police to register an FIR against him for making provocative remarks during the recently concluded panchayat elections.
A Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the case was already scheduled for hearing on August 4. The court assured Mr. Adhikari’s lawyer, advocate Bansuri Swaraj, that the case would not be deleted from the list on that day.
In an oral mentioning on Thursday, Ms. Swaraj submitted that the July 20 order of the High Court, which was under challenge, contradicted earlier orders of the High Court providing protection to the Opposition leader from criminal cases.
The High Court had in September 2021 and December last year protected Mr. Adhikari from coercive action by the police. These orders were based on petitions filed by Mr. Adhikari accusing the Trinamool Congress government of using the State machinery to register frivolous cases against him.
‘Precarious situation’
Ms. Swaraj urged the court for a listing on July 31, submitting that her client was in a “precarious situation” and may face multiple FIRs now.
On July 20, the High Court had dealt with a plea which accused Mr. Adhikari of committing an offence under Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code.
“The overzealousness of the police, which is acting on the instructions of the current ruling party, is a glaring example of the misuse of powers vested in the hands of the Chief Minister,” Mr. Adhikari’s side claimed in the apex court.
